The College Chefs Greek Cup

For the first year ever, College Chefs is sponsoring the Greek Cup at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign! We talked to Erik Riha, Lead Assistant Director of Marketing for University of Illinois Campus Recreation, to get the details.

First, here’s a little background on the Greek Cup: “Back in the ’40s, ’50s, and into the ’60s, the Greek Cup was really popular, because it was a way to get people to play intramurals. However, as recreation and intramurals got bigger, it started to wane. By the early ’70s teams were fighting about the point system among other things, so they got rid of the Greek Cup. Houses would have teams, and a lot of the general population in the residence halls were playing intramural, so we didn’t need the Cup,” Erik said. “And then last year, a group of fraternity alums approached us and asked if we would institute it again, because in their houses they were finding a lot of bad sportsmanship. They were looking for ways to create a stronger brother and sisterhood. And they had fond memories of playing for the Greek Cup.”

Erik was talking to College Chefs about partnering with Campus Recreation, and thought the Greek Cup would be a natural fit with them. “So College Chefs came on board and are now an underwriting sponsor of the Greek Cup, and we’re going to do a banquet at the end of the year that they’re going to take part in,” Erik said.

The College Chefs Greek Cup is open to fraternities and sororities at UIUC; they can enter teams in leagues for flag football, softball, soccer, basketball, indoor soccer, etc. The houses get points throughout the year based on wins (champion/runner up), bonus points, and sportsmanship. The points accumulate throughout the year, and at the end of the year, one fraternity and one sorority will be awarded this year’s Greek Cup. They win a trophy with their house name and year on it, which is displayed in the Campus Recreation facilities, and they are given a smaller replica for their house.